


Bubblegum

by AgentExile



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Alternate Universe - Candy Shop, Background Johndo, M/M, Mini-Fic, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-03-09 16:00:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18920332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentExile/pseuds/AgentExile
Summary: When a new candy store opens directly opposite Jaehyun’s bakery, he can’t help storming the six metres across the street to investigate the competition.He wants to be furious, but it’s hard to stay pissed at a boy with cotton candy hair and a handful of lollipops extended as a peace offering.





	1. Lollipops

**Author's Note:**

  * For [butjaehyunie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/butjaehyunie/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, it’s me back with another Jaeyong mini-fic!  
> This one is a gift for Mathi. Your support over the last ten months (can you believe it has been so long since OB started and we first met?) has meant everything to me, I’m so privileged to have you as a friend <3 Your writing and your support of writers are a credit to the NCT community.  
> I hope you like it xx

   It had all begun when the decorators arrived to paint the storefront pink.

   Jaehyun narrowed his eyes through the glass. ‘Unbelievable,’ he said, as Johnny appeared beside him to nose at the latest developments too.

   It had begun with the paint, and the week had unravelled from there. First, the deliveries had started to arrive, and then two giant, human-sized lollipops had been dropped off to frame the entrance. Today, though, all of Jaehyun’s worst suspicions had finally been confirmed.

   ‘Breathe, Jae, or you’ll burst a blood vessel,’ Johnny laughed.

   ‘ _Bubblegum_ ,’ said Jaehyun as the two workmen across the street fixed the new sign into place over the shopfront. ‘It’s a candy shop. Can you _believe_ it?’ He turned to Johnny.

   ‘I think it’s great,’ shrugged his best-friend-turned-business-partner with an infuriating smile. ‘If we make friends with the owner, maybe we’ll get free candy.’

   ‘This is a huge deal, Johnny,’ he groaned. ‘Do you realise what this means for us? What kid is gonna come to our bakery when there’s a brand new shiny candy store right across the street?’

   Johnny rolled his eyes. ‘You act like our only customers are kids. In fact, hardly any of our customers are kids.’ He nodded around the room to prove his point.

   The place was small, a cross really between a bakery and a tea shop with enough seating space for a couple of tables. One of the tables was occupied by an elderly couple, who were sharing a banana loaf, and the other by a mother with a baby. It was true that kids and teenagers didn’t _exactly_ make up the majority of their clientele but that wasn’t the point.

   ‘That’s not the point,’ he said out loud to Johnny, deciding to change tack. ‘It’s unhealthy. They shouldn’t be promoting - ’

   ‘Stop right there,’ Johnny put his hand up to halt this speech. ‘I’ve seen how much sugar you put in your cakes. You are _not_ going to criticise the sweet shop.’

   ‘It’s not about sugar!’ he carried on, unperturbed. ‘It’s artificial sweeteners. Colourings. Flavourings. Kids shouldn’t be eating that crap. _Sorry_!’ he added quickly when the mother at the table turned to glare at him.

   ‘You know what I think?’ smirked Johnny. ‘I think you’re scared of a little competition.’

   Jaehyun stood up straight. ‘I’m not scared of a shop called _Bubblegum_. And besides, _you_ should be scared of competition. We’re in this together, remember?’

   Jaehyun and Johnny had met several years earlier, on their very first day at college, when they had been assigned as roommates. Jaehyun was studying Literature, and Johnny Music, and on day one they probably would not have predicted that this was where they would end up. Over the course of their studies, however, it had started to emerge that Jaehyun had a hidden dream of opening a bakery like his grandparents had once run, and that Johnny had quite a head for business.

   They were into their third year, now, of running the small shop, and there was nothing that Jaehyun would change. He’d never wanted fame or money or a high-flying career, only this. Every day he came to work with his best friend, and every day he got to know that he’d achieved the thing he’d secretly dreamed of since he was a kid.

   ‘I’m gonna go investigate,’ said Johnny.

   ‘No!’ Jaehyun caught his arm. ‘No, you’re not. You’re not allowed to associate with the enemy.’

   Johnny rolled his eyes and pulled his arm free. ‘Try and stop me. You never know, it might be a good-looking guy… a _single_ guy…’

   Jaehyun scoffed. His best friend was always trying to set him up, to the point that sometimes it bordered on desperation. _Johnny_ had met his partner-for-life, Doyoung, at a movie theatre during their first year at college, and had not looked back since. They were one of those perfect couples, the couples that annoyed _other_ couples because of how in love they were, and Johnny kept insisting that Jaehyun needed that in his life too.

   ‘Yeah right,’ said Jaehyun, and he tilted his chin up. Unfortunately, Johnny was taller than him, so it did nothing to give him the aura he desired. ‘Fine. Go if you want. And make sure you indulge in a little sabotage if you get the chance.’ 

   Johnny gave him a sort of military salute, and then dived out of the door and skipped across the street. He moved everywhere with that kind of energy. Maybe it was being _loved up_ that gave him so much vim all the time.

   Jaehyun stalked back to the counter and checked on his cakes, rearranging them slightly so that the most appealing ones were at the front of the display. At first, he determinedly _did not look_ out of the window across the street, but after a few minutes, he kept glancing up. Johnny had not reappeared from the lollipop-framed entrance. Maybe he’d fallen into a barrel of bonbons.

   Jaehyun hoped so. It would serve him right.

   The windows of _Bubblegum_ were still covered with paper from where the shop had been in disuse for quite some time. In fact, Jaehyun could barely recall what the store had once been. When they’d very first opened, he seemed to remember that there had been a run-down clothing store on the premises, but he couldn’t really get a clear image of it in his head. It had closed almost immediately after he and Johnny had opened.

   Was there something going on behind those papered windows?

   What had Johnny found?

   Jaehyun glared down at the cash register and tapped his hands on the counter.

   _Fine._ He would admit it. Johnny had piqued his interest.

   ‘Can I have a slice of lemon drizzle?’

   He looked up, having forgotten that he had a job to do. He smiled at the man across the counter – he was a regular, a single father who always dropped in before the schools kicked out to buy a treat for his daughter.

   ‘Sure, of course,’ Jaehyun smiled. ‘Sorry, I was off in my own little world.’

   ‘No problem,’ the man gave him an equally friendly expression in return. ‘What do you think of the new place, then?’

   Jaehyun gritted his teeth, smile turning to a grimace. ‘It looks great,’ he said.

   ‘I’m not so sure,’ the man sighed, ‘I don’t think anything quite compares to a freshly baked cake.’

   ‘See that’s what I’ve been saying!’ Jaehyun unleashed. ‘It’s all sweeteners and - ’

   ‘Jae, don’t rant at the customers,’ said Johnny, as he sidled back behind the counter and gave their regular a friendly smile. ‘Don’t mind him. He got out of bed on the wrong side this morning.’

   Jaehyun gave his friend a shove, and only when the bakery cleared out again did he round on him. ‘ _Well_?’

   ‘Well what?’

   He closed his eyes, reminding himself that it would be difficult to run the shop alone if he throttled him. ‘ _Bubblegum_ ,’ he said flatly, in demand of an answer.

   Johnny grinned and helped himself to a cupcake and coffee; he could always be relied upon to consume at least half of the day’s produce. ‘I thought you weren’t interested in the enemy?’

   ‘Just tell me,’ he sighed.

   ‘Well, I met the owner. He’s in there filling jars.’

   Jaehyun stared at him, then pulled a face when Johnny refused to elaborate. ‘ _Anything else_?’

   Johnny shrugged, with an air that he knew something Jaehyun didn’t. It was infuriating. ‘He’s nice. Very nice. He gave me a lollipop.’ He held up the giant, round swirl, a rainbow of colours.

   ‘And? What’s the shop like?’

   ‘Small,’ said Johnny. ‘He’s done it out really nicely though. It’s all pink and purple and pastel blues. Every surface is covered in sweets. I hate to say it, but… I felt like a kid in a candy store,’ he winked.

   ‘What did you say?’ questioned Jaehyun.

   ‘I introduced myself. I welcomed him to the street and told him to drop by the bakery _any_ time because we’re so excited to have him as our new neighbour. And do you know the best part? He’s living in the apartment above the store, just like us!’

   Jaehyun seethed. ‘Great.’

   There was a pause in which they had to serve a customer. Jaehyun simmered in the background as Johnny did the work. He couldn’t quite figure out why the arrival of the candy shop made him so angry. _Was_ he threatened? Yes, of course. It was true that kids especially wouldn’t favour the bakery over the flashy new store. Was he worried about health? Well not really, Johnny was right: he _did_ overload with sugar every day.

   The truth, though, stewed a tasty thought in his brain:

   He was scared of change.

   Jaehyun was one of those people who enjoyed continuity. He liked things to remain the same, whether it was the time that they opened the shop each day, the regular customers that he loved so much, or the view out of the window of the boarded-up storefront.

   Change meant risk.

   And in his experience, the changes were almost always for the worse.

   Rent always went up, and never down. The condition of his bad left knee only ever got worse, not better. And the _new businesses on the street only ever pushed up the costs for everyone else and resulted in the closure of the stores that Jaehyun had grown to love_. He sighed. No, he did not like change.

   ‘You might like him,’ said Johnny, in an offhand kind of way.

   Jaehyun turned to the back door to go and check on his ovens. ‘I doubt it,’ he said, without turning around.

*

   Monday morning brought with it judgment day.

   The grand opening of _Bubblegum_.

   Jaehyun stared at his bedroom ceiling, eyes narrowed.

   It was painfully early for most, but he was used to that. He had to get down to the bakery first thing every morning so that he could have everything ready fresh for when the morning commute crowd passed by the store. Johnny usually got up later, and in return closed the bakery in the evenings.

   Jaehyun didn’t mind the mornings. Before they opened, he got to enjoy the precious hour and a half alone in the backroom, humming along to his music and working on his recipes, recipes that had been passed down through his family across generations. It was therapeutic, one of his favourite parts of the day, but today his mind was crammed with thoughts of _Bubblegum_.

   With a heavy sigh, he swung his legs off the bed and reached around for a sweater. It was spring, just starting to edge towards summer, but he liked his sweaters best so he always wore them to work anyway. This one was striped, a pastel pink and tan and dusty blue. He moved around the apartment above the bakery quietly, careful not to wake Johnny, and made himself a coffee. He didn’t need to worry about breakfast, because he would be able to have something of his own creation soon downstairs.

   When he opened up the bakery, he tried to ignore the store opposite. There wasn’t any life there yet, and he found his eyes drawn up to the apartment above, where he now knew the owner lived. There was a light on, in one of the windows. It wasn’t even five in the morning, which meant one of two things: the new owner was an early bird too, or he was too nervous about his opening to sleep.

   Jaehyun wondered which of the two it was, but then he reminded himself that he was supposed to be ignoring the place altogether.

   Luckily, in the backroom, there were no windows looking out on the street.

   Jaehyun set about his work diligently, and with only bread on his mind he at last started to relax. He thought about what else to make for the morning. Some croissants? Cheese twists? Some angel cake because on Monday mornings parents _always_ dropped by with their kids on the way to school?

   Jaehyun’s kitchen was his happy place. He’d live in there if he could.

   He opened up the front of the shop at six thirty, and left his counter bell on the front counter so that any customers could call him if they needed him. He was quite content to leave the bakery open, and flit back and forth as he carried out his creations tray by tray. He’d never exactly had a problem with theft.

   The bakery was not _terribly_ popular, but it wasn’t unpopular either. Mostly, they enjoyed a steady stream of regulars.

   Jaehyun greeted them all by name, one by one, and he usually had their order ready by the time they made it to the counter. He relished in the familiar sound of the coffee machine, and the smell of baking bread, and the cheerful smiles that he knew his cakes could bring to any face, and for a while he forgot all other thoughts in the world.

   Johnny appeared looking disgruntled at around eight, as he always did in the mornings, and he spent the first half an hour drinking two cups of coffee. He couldn’t function without caffeine. ‘Queue’s getting bigger,’ he remarked, and for a moment Jaehyun thought he meant _their_ queue, but then he looked up at the windows again.

   _Oh_.

   Yes.

   _Bubblegum_ had quite a line forming outside.

   The doors had not opened yet, but the paper was down from the windows and at last Jaehyun could get a proper look at it.

   The window displays were magnificent. He thought, despite himself, that the owner must be some sort of artist. In one window, he’d created a kind of pyramid of truffles wrapped in different coloured foils, and the colours were arranged to make little clusters of hearts.

   ‘How’s he got so many people lined up?’ he grumbled. ‘The kids are at school.’

   ‘Grown-ups like candy too, Jae,’ Johnny laughed and clapped a hand down on his shoulder. ‘He was handing out flyers, yesterday. Doyoung got one.’

   ‘He’s not going to _go_ , is he?’

   ‘Of course he is,’ Johnny rolled his eyes. ‘Everything is on special offer for opening day.’

   All of it, Jaehyun could have suffered, until the doors finally opened, and the music started.

   The _music_.

   It was loud, idol music, and so saccharine that he had to close his eyes for a moment.

   ‘Breathe,’ Johnny reminded him, and he was grinning. He skipped over to the window, leaving Jaehyun to manage their own customers, and peered across the street as the queue started to pour into the shop. ‘ _Awesome_.’

   For a minute, Jaehyun tried to block it out, but then he could stomach it no longer. ‘He shouldn’t be playing his music that loud,’ he said abruptly.

   ‘Oh come _on_ ,’ Johnny groaned, ‘it’s his first day. Let him live.’

   Jaehyun huffed, and slammed down a pair of tongs somewhat too aggressively. ‘I’m going to go and tell him to turn it down.’

   ‘ _Don’t_!’ Johnny grabbed him by the arm as he stalked out from behind the counter. ‘Jae, you’re being ridiculous.’

   But Jaehyun was not to be reasoned with.

   He pulled away and opened the door of the bakery so roughly that the bell overhead _clanged_ rather than jingled. He stomped across the street, all six metres of pedestrianised cobble, and pushed his way past the crowd around the door, ignoring any noises of protest.

   _Bubblegum_ had got under his skin, and he couldn’t stand it anymore.

   The shop was rammed, but already Jaehyun could get a glimpse of everything Johnny had told him about. The colour palette was soft and pastel, but some of the candies were positively neon. Heavy glass jars lined the walls on neatly painted shelves, filled with every type of sweet that he’d ever seen in his life. In the middle of the shop, on a huge pink dais, there was a chocolate fountain.

   The music was even louder inside, but no one seemed to mind. In fact, a couple of people were dancing.

   Jaehyun dodged around a stack of chocolate bars almost as tall as he was, as he worked to muscle his way to the desk.

   Then, when he finally managed to make it to the front, his heart leapt from his chest to his mouth and then somewhere to his navel, and he felt like he’d been turned completely upside down.

   _Oh_.

   ‘Excuse - ’ he started, voice sharp, but then he stopped. He couldn’t do it.

   The man behind the counter didn’t seem perturbed by all the chaos. He was beaming, a bright, dazzling smile that belonged in a dentist’s commercial. The irony was not lost on Jaehyun.

   ‘ _You might like him._ ’ Johnny’s words rang around his brain.

   The man was young, probably Jaehyun’s age or a year older, but he looked as excitable as a kid. He seemed to bounce on his feet as he walked back and forth behind the counter, collecting jars for people. His hair was bubble-gum pink, so bright that it made everyone else in the store look dull by comparison. He was wearing a white work shirt with a matching pink bow-tie.

   _You might like him_.

   Jaehyun let the words he was going to say drop from his mind and his lips altogether, dying a death so rapid that they might never have existed.

   He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen anyone who looked like this.   

   ‘Hello!’

   ‘Er – hi,’ Jaehyun swallowed.

   Shame rose up inside him. _Shame_ at how horribly unfair he’d been. _Shame_ at the terrible image he’d conjured up of his faceless enemy in his mind.

   Jaehyun was not, he didn’t think, a moody guy. Quite the opposite, in fact. He could be the life and soul of a party when he wanted to, and was famed for being kind to everyone that he met. The fact that he had refused to offer this man and this shop the same courtesy?

   He felt his face flush red.

   ‘Welcome to _Bubblegum_! What can I get for you?’

   ‘I’m – I’m - ’

   Up close, Jaehyun was distracted. His eyes flickered to the silver name-badge, but they did not hover for long before being drawn back to his face.

   _Taeyong_.

   Taeyong was just about as beautiful as it was possible for a man to be.

   Jaehyun cursed Johnny in his mind for not warning him properly.

   His eyes were wide, with irises so deep and dark that they could have been drawn that way. He had smooth skin like a movie-star, unmarked except for a scar at the corner of his eye that reminded Jaehyun of a flower, or a butterfly, or something else equally beautiful. And already, Jaehyun felt his eyes drawn to his lips, a pink arch too perfect but a lower lip bitten a little as though he’d been nervous.  

   Then, he realised he owed him an answer. ‘Oh, I’m – I’m Jaehyun,’ he said, voice loud over the music. ‘I own the bakery opposite. You – you met my business partner Johnny.’

   If it was possible, the smile got bigger. ‘I _did_! Oh my gosh. He said you’d probably come over to say hello. I’m Taeyong. Lee Taeyong. Here - ’ he fumbled around on the counter and then brandished a handful of lollipops. ‘For you, neighbour!’

   Jaehyun blinked at him.

   Had he been angry a moment ago?

   Suddenly, he couldn’t remember what anger felt like.

   He took the outstretched lollipops and turned them over in his hand.

   ‘I’m sorry, it’s mad in here. Maybe I can come by the bakery some time to introduce myself properly?’

   ‘Yes, yeah. Sure. Don’t… don’t let me get in the way.’ He backed up a little.

   His mind was already straying to a tray of cupcakes that were in the bakery waiting to be iced with baby pink buttercream. A tray of cupcakes that now had Taeyong’s name on it.

   ‘Jaehyun?’

   ‘Yes?’ he turned so quickly that he almost knocked someone over.

   ‘The music isn’t too loud, is it?’ Taeyong asked with an awkward, slightly lopsided smile.

   ‘The music?’ Jaehyun said, looking around like he had suddenly spotted soundwaves around him that he previously had not detected. ‘No, no of course not. I hadn’t even noticed it.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/puffyong_)


	2. Gummy Bears

   Taeyong never woke up early. Ever since he was a kid, he had negotiated a routine that met the very limit of possibility, one that required him to get ready for school or for work with margins of mere seconds. He valued his sleep, even just one extra minute, and so long as he stuck to his routines, there was no danger of being late.

   His routines.

   Taeyong lived for them.

   In fact, he became very unhappy if they were disturbed.

   His morning routine began on Tuesday like always. His alarm did not ring until 8:00, but that was okay, because Taeyong never used the snooze button. He snapped it off, and climbed out of bed with a stretch so wide that it was almost catlike. Then, without pause, he dived into the bathroom.

   This part of his routine could be managed in less than ten minutes. Shower, teeth, shave if he needed to, and a rapid skincare routine that really just meant a swipe of moisture pads. Then, to the kitchen. In there, he whipped up a quick fruit smoothie and reached around his biscuit tins for one of his homemade granola bars. Taeyong liked meal plans and cooking ahead, so he didn’t have to worry about it on days when he was working.

   That was especially important now that the store had opened, because Taeyong would be working six days a week, from opening to close, and he had not even thought about hiring another person to help out in the shop. He didn’t have that kind of money.

   By 8:25, he was pulling on his clothes. Technically, as his own boss, he could decide his own uniform, but he had not exploited that particular privilege and had chosen something appropriate for the store rather than something that happened to be comfortable. The only thing that he concentrated on for comfort was his boots, a pair of clean but well-worn combat boots that had been with him since his rebellious teenage phase and were as good as soft blankets for his feet now.

   By 8:30, he was down the steps from his apartment and in the store, half-finished smoothie still in hand, beaming smile on his face, ready to work.

   He stood in the middle of the shop and looked around.

   _Day Two._

   It was difficult to know where to begin.

   He had tried his best to repair the chaos left behind the previous night, because he hated leaving work for the morning, but the job had not been finished entirely. Apparently, letting half of the city loose around sweets was a dangerous idea. It had been difficult to walk by the end of the day, without skidding over loose candies or tripping on fallen chocolate towers.

   Still, though, Taeyong exhaled in bliss.

   Even now, he could not quite believe that this was real.

   He’d worked so hard to make it happen that the shop still felt like a distant dream instead of his new reality.

   He ran his fingertips along the hallowed jar-lined walls, and he allowed his eyes to feast on the barrels and barrels of packet sweets by the windows. He’d always had a sweet tooth – at school, his friends had named him the cookie monster. Now, he tried not to eat too much candy, and he really did start his days with smoothies and granola, but that was only because by the evening his resolve always weakened and he ended up eating his way through the half-opened boxes of stock.

   Those boxes had filled his apartment for days, now. They had started arriving a while before opening, and there wasn’t enough room for them all in the back room of the store. Taeyong didn’t like that, but he hoped he could get everything organised soon. He liked things to be kept in tidy order.

   ‘Knock knock,’ said a quiet voice, and Taeyong spun around. He’d left the front door unlocked. Jaehyun was stood in the doorway, holding up a very large tray. ‘Delivery from your neighbour.’

   _Jaehyun_.

   Taeyong wondered if his face flushed pink. He hoped not.

   It had taken him by surprise when the baker from across the street had arrived in his shop the previous day. He had known he would be dropping by some time, because Johnny had told him so when he had first visited himself, so that wasn’t what surprised him. Rather, he just hadn’t expected Jaehyun to be so…

   Well.

   He definitely felt his cheeks heat up.

   ‘Oh, Jaehyun!’ he tried to rearrange his features into a proper smile. Taeyong had been taught to always smile. He’d been told by his mother that such things were _polite_. ‘Good morning. I – hi!’

   Jaehyun crossed the room, brushing close to him as he laid the tray down on the counter.

   Taeyong examined it and felt a flurry of little butterflies take flight somewhere in his navel. There were four neat rows of six cupcakes, _twenty-four_ in all, all iced with perfect pink icing and topped with small white roses that he could tell had been put together by hand. They were tinted pink in their inner petals with what could only be the most delicate brushstrokes of colouring.

   ‘Are these all for me?’ he whispered in awe. Immediately, he had the urge to prod a finger into that perfect icing and lift it to dissolve on his tongue.

   ‘Well,’ Jaehyun laughed. There was a small hint of a tremor there, like he was nervous, but Taeyong didn’t think too much on it; it was normal for people to be a little awkward while still in the process of getting to know one another. ‘If you want them all, then of course they’re yours. But I thought maybe you could keep them on the counter, too. For anyone who wants them.’

   ‘Thank you,’ Taeyong beamed.

   ‘Take a taste,’ said Jaehyun. He lifted one of the cakes and peeled back the pink paper, before holding it out for Taeyong.

   The butterflies fluttered again. ‘Okay,’ he said.

   He touched the tip of his tongue to the pink frosting and closed his eyes at the hit of sugar. The buttercream melted on his tongue, and he tasted something like the most distant hint of rose water. His healthy smoothie lay forgotten on the counter.

   ‘Mm,’ he hummed, and then his eyes snapped open as he realised the noise probably sounded inappropriate while alone in a room together.

   ‘Good?’ asked Jaehyun.

   ‘You know it is,’ Taeyong rolled his eyes. ‘Everyone talks about your baking. When I said that I was moving into the store across the road, _lots_ of people told me about you.’

   ‘Er… they did?’ Jaehyun wasn’t quick enough to hide the self-satisfied look that flashed across his face.

   ‘My best friend, Ten, goes to your bakery.’

   Jaehyun raised his eyebrows in surprise. ‘What does he look like?’

   Taeyong took a giant bite of cake, then remembered that it was rude to talk with his mouth full, so he quickly choked it down before answering. ‘Small, pixie features. Probably rude because he goes in before dance practice, which means it’s the morning. _Not_ a morning person. Lots of piercings.’

   ‘Oh, yeah!’ Jaehyun grinned. ‘Yeah, I know him.’

   ‘He always says that your baking is the best in Seoul.’

   Jaehyun’s pompous pride that had flickered there for a second seemed to turn to embarrassment when Taeyong spoiled him some more with his words. Taeyong liked to do that. He didn’t like to think too hard about himself, because that was when all of his doubts crept in, so instead he liked to lavish praise upon others.

   There was a moment of awkwardness.

   ‘Since I can keep the cakes on my counter, is there something you’d like to take from my shop to put on _yours_?’ Taeyong suggested with what he hoped was a winning smile.

   ‘What have you got for me?’

   ‘Anything you want,’ he shrugged. ‘What’s your favourite?’

   ‘I don’t know,’ Jaehyun hummed. He looked around the store.

   Taeyong took the pause as an opportunity to take another look at him. Jaehyun was outrageously handsome. His hair had a hint of honey colour to it that set off his proclivity for sweetness, and his face was so… well… he looked like the Prince Charmings of the fairy-tales that Taeyong loved. He was a sucker for that kind of stuff. The more saccharine, the better.

   ‘What’s yours?’

   ‘My what?’ said Taeyong. He’d forgotten what they were talking about.

   ‘Your favourite?’

   ‘Gummy bears,’ he said, without hesitation.

   People always expected that he wouldn’t be able to pick a favourite candy, the way that musicians struggled over choosing their favourite songs or writers their favourite books, but Taeyong had his answer pre-prepared. He’d answered this question enough times in his life.

   Jaehyun smiled. ‘Why gummy bears?’

   ‘When my grandmother used to walk me home from school, she would always buy me a bag of gummy bears. She called them little teddy bears.’

   ‘Has she seen this place?’ asked Jaehyun.

   ‘She’s the reason this place even exists,’ he answered. ‘My parents wanted me to be a doctor, but even when I was tiny she always said to me that I’d end up opening a sweet shop. So she decided to leave her savings to me in her will, so that I could open the place.’

   ‘Oh Taeyong - ’ Jaehyun started, ‘I’m sorry, I - ’

   ‘No, no!’ Taeyong interrupted quickly. ‘She’s fine! She _did_ decide to leave me her savings in her will, but then she said why on earth wait until she was gone and wouldn’t be able to enjoy it? So she put down the deposit on this place for me right away, and she’s helped me every step of the way.’

   Jaehyun exhaled in relief.

   ‘She loves the store, by the way. She came to the opening. She doesn’t have a lot of money, and nor do I, but it’s enough to get started and I hope that soon the shop will be self-sufficient.’

   Jaehyun nodded. ‘My grandparents really inspired me to open my bakery too, _and_ keep it going during the tough times. The first few months are the hardest. When we first opened, it was all debt and stress and I thought it would never end. But things level out and it all starts to get good, I promise.’

   Taeyong looked around the shop with a smile.

   It felt pretty good already.

*

   The next few days were what Taeyong would consider a _settling_ period in his life.    

   Soon, the street and the apartment did not feel so unfamiliar. The shop began to feel like home. The customers slowed down to a steady stream instead of a melee. Taeyong learned how to control the shutters than had caused him so much grief since opening. He mastered the art of a chocolate tower that would _not_ topple over at the slightest touch.

   Chocolate jenga.

   He saw quite a bit of his neighbours. Johnny arrived at least once a day, usually in what Taeyong presumed was his lunch break, to pick up chocolate. One time, he brought a very large heart shaped box for his boyfriend, who he talked to Taeyong about for at least ten minutes. Taeyong had only managed to extricate himself from the gushing by reminding Johnny that he had a _very_ long queue.

   And Jaehyun came by.

   He didn’t visit every day, like Johnny, but he did bring surprises each time. Once, a crammed bag of chocolate twists still warm from the oven. Another time, a basket of bread so large that Taeyong had to call in on Ten’s apartment because there was no chance that he could eat it all himself.

   Taeyong thought it was being a welcoming neighbour.

   Ten thought it was flirting.

   Taeyong scoffed at that, but the more that the days went on, the more he knew Ten was right, and that meant his face turned very pink whenever Jaehyun dropped by. He was quite a confident guy – _very_ confident, in fact – but something about Jaehyun made him feel distinctly weak at the knees.

   The smile, he thought it was.

   Jaehyun had a crooked smile that lit up his face with charm.

   ‘So, you like the bakery?’ Ten had asked, mouth full.

   Taeyong had shrugged. ‘I don’t know, I haven’t been in there yet. I’ve been so busy.’

   At that, Ten had almost choked in surprise, then widened his eyes in a gesture that suggested he thought Taeyong was an idiot. ‘You’ve got a solid 9/10 flirting with you, and you haven’t been bothered to cross the street?’

   ‘Why only 9/10?’ Taeyong had huffed.

   Ten had smirked. ‘Just wanted to see if you’d get defensive about him.’

   So, with his best friend’s orders ringing around his ears, Taeyong finally shut up his shop after another busy day and decided to venture across to the bakery.

   It was an intimidating place, Taeyong thought, and he wondered whether anyone else even noticed. The building was smaller than his, but everything about it was perfect. The sign that swung in the light breeze had a pretty calligraphic script reading the name, and there was a chalkboard out the front with even neater writing. The window, even at the end of the day, was still filled with fresh food, inviting in the last of the passing traffic. There was a quiet sort of aura about it, most unlike the loud music of _Bubblegum_ , and Taeyong felt rather like he might be entering a library, or some other sacred place.

   He slipped through the door and looked around nervously.

   When he met the eyes of Johnny, behind the counter, he smiled and gave him a wave.

   ‘Taeyong!’ Johnny announced, probably loud enough that Jaehyun could hear even out the back. ‘I wondered when you would drop in!’

   ‘Hi,’ he smiled. ‘This place is… it’s so lovely. Really. I’m so impressed.’

   ‘Eh, it’s not lollipops and chocolate fountains,’ Johnny shrugged, ‘but it’s home.’

   ‘I hope my place can feel like this soon,’ Taeyong murmured. What _this_ was, he couldn’t exactly identify, but there was a sense to the bakery that it had been there forever, like it was part of the street instead of just a business. He wanted _Bubblegum_ to feel that way some day.

   He glanced left when he saw Jaehyun emerge from the back room carrying a tray of small bread rolls.

   ‘Hello Jaehyun,’ he said brightly.  

   ‘Oh, hey, Taeyong! I… shit, if I’d known you were coming I would have baked a cake or something.’

   Taeyong giggled and looked down. ‘It’s okay, you don’t always have to bake me something.’

   Johnny looked very obviously between the two of them and then rolled his eyes. ‘Why don’t you take a break, Jae? I’m sure I can _just_ about handle the cash register.’

   Jaehyun put down the tray and hurried out from behind the counter without a backward glance. Then, he indicated one of the tables hidden in the corner of the small room, and Taeyong tip-toed over to it, still unwilling to disturb the peace.

   ‘So, what do you think of the place?’

   ‘I was just telling Johnny, it’s amazing. I always get jealous just looking out of my window.’

   ‘It’s my heart,’ Jaehyun sighed, with a loving look around the room. ‘I know it’s small, and it’s not much, but it’s my pride and joy.’

   ‘What would you have been if you weren’t a baker, Jaehyun?’

   His brows lifted in surprise. ‘I… don’t know,’ he said, and his face betrayed honesty. ‘I studied Literature at college, but I wasn’t exactly a wordsmith myself. I guess this was always where I was going to end up. I’m not sure I was good at anything else. I’m not sure I _am_.’

   ‘I’m sure you’re good at lots of things!’

   Jaehyun laughed and played with the small, pink candle in the middle of the table. ‘Can I confess something, Taeyong?’

   ‘Always!’ Taeyong grinned. He liked secrets. At school, he had collected them and consumed them like candy.

   ‘When I first saw you moving in across the street, I thought it was the worst thing to have ever happened. I thought your store would steal all our customers and I thought the street would change and… well, I’m not proud of it. I’m sorry I prejudged you.’

   Taeyong looked at him in surprise.

   He couldn’t exactly feel upset about something he hadn’t even known at the time and which was now clearly no longer the case, but it still didn’t make his stomach feel particularly nice.

   ‘Oh,’ he let out the sound instead, an ever-uncommitting sound.

   ‘But you’re so special,’ Jaehyun shook his head. ‘You’re this spark of light. And now I get excited every time I see you open up shop. I think _Bubblegum_ is going to be a really good thing for this street, for this community. I was just scared of change.’

   ‘Why?’ asked Taeyong.

   ‘You know,’ Jaehyun rolled his eyes, ‘rent goes up, mom left dad, my glasses prescription got worse. Change is usually messy.’

   ‘You wear glasses?’

   ‘Contacts.’

   ‘Me too,’ said Taeyong, though he knew this wasn’t something _that_ interesting to have in common. ‘We’re quite similar, you and me,’ he continued, because he wanted to make up for the lack of meaning in that fact. ‘We’re both young business owners, we both have a bit of a sweet tooth, I’d say.’

   Jaehyun nodded. ‘I guess we are.’

   When he could tolerate the circles they were skirting around the issue no longer, Taeyong sighed, and sat up straighter. ‘So, are you going to ask me out on a real date?’

   Jaehyun stared at him, then gulped very visibly.

   Taeyong flicked his bangs out of his eyes and sat back in his chair. ‘You keep coming into my shop and bringing cakes, and now I’ve been here. We _really_ need to meet somewhere that isn’t our _workplaces_ , Jaehyun. There’s not much romantic about work.’

   Jaehyun stared some more.

   And some more.

   And then he cleared his throat.

   ‘Yeah, yeah, of course. I – er – where do you want to go?’

   Taeyong smiled. It was a broad smile of accomplishment. ‘You’re asking me, remember?’

   Jaehyun gave him that dazzling smile back, and Taeyong knew he’d won. ‘Okay’ he nodded rapidly. Taeyong, would you like to go out on a date with me? A real date?’

   ‘Why yes, Jaehyun, I would,’ he beamed.

   ‘I’ll take you out to dinner,’ said Jaehyun, like he was building confidence as he talked. ‘ _And_ a movie. I’ll… pick you up, tomorrow night.’

   ‘I’d like that. You know where to find me,’ he winked.

   ‘I’ll bring gummy bears for you, for during the movie,’ Jaehyun added.

   Taeyong laughed, and for a moment the confident, flirtatious character that he usually was found itself caught in a second of shyness again. Jaehyun seemed to have that effect on him. Despite the idea being his all along, he really _did_ feel like he had just been asked out by a handsome almost-stranger. ‘Thank you.’

   ‘Although…’ Jaehyun paused, ‘it could be awkward. Since, you know, my local sweetshop is…’ he nodded at the window.

   Taeyong glanced over his shoulder at his beloved _Bubblegum_. ‘It’s okay,’ he said, ‘if you’re extra nice, the manager might even give you a special discount.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/puffyong_)


	3. Love Hearts

 

   ‘It’ll all be perfect,’ announced Johnny, with a smug expression as though he had just cracked a particularly complex code. ‘Jae can move in with Taeyong and they can live above the sweetshop together, and then you can move in here with me. Everyone’s still close to work, and everyone gets to wake up next to their boyfriend!’

   Doyoung nodded his agreement. ‘It sounds like an excellent idea.’

   Over by the counter, Jaehyun choked on his coffee. It wasn’t that he _wanted_ to eavesdrop on his friend’s private time with his boyfriend, but Johnny had a very loud, very unshielded voice. And Jaehyun had the suspicion that he’d meant for him to hear. He spluttered up coffee, ignoring the searing in his throat as he stomped over to the table.

   ‘Can’t you die quietly? Some of us are trying to talk,’ said Johnny, without looking over his shoulder.

   ‘What did you just say?’ Jaehyun demanded. His eyes darted across to the window furtively, like he was afraid Taeyong might have heard from across the street.

   Johnny finally turned with the air of a man most exasperated. ‘I _said_ that you can move in with Taeyongie above the sweetshop, and Doyoung and I can live together here above the bakery.’

   Jaehyun stared at him, mouth in a perfect _o_ at the sound of such sheer audacity. He knew that Johnny and Doyoung wanted to move in together – of course they would, they had been together a very long time – and Jaehyun had known that such a thing might eventually mean him being ousted to somewhere down the road, but for Johnny to even _suggest_ –

   ‘We’ve only been on three dates!’ he hissed. ‘Don’t go talking about that kind of thing, he’ll run a mile if he hears!’

   Johnny smirked. ‘I’m just talking hypotheticals, Jae. The future. I’m not saying you have to move in with him right now. Besides, I doubt he’ll run a mile. Taeyong _loooves_ you,’ he said it in a goading voice, grinning.

   ‘Shh!’ Jaehyun whacked his shoulder with the tea towel in his hand.

   ‘What? Scared everyone will hear?’

   ‘Shut _up_ , Johnny! We’re just… seeing each other.’

   ‘Seeing each-other,’ Johnny rolled his eyes at his own boyfriend before they both looked back at Jaehyun. ‘You’ve already stayed over.’

   ‘Yes, I have! To _sleep_ , Johnny. We watched a movie and Taeyong fell asleep on the couch so I stayed with him. Nothing… _untoward_ happened.’

   ‘Yeah, yeah,’ said Johnny, with a wink.

   ‘I’m serious, Johnny! We haven’t even kissed yet.’

   Doyoung and Johnny both stared at him, and this time it was Johnny’s turn to look surprised. ‘You’re kidding, right?’

   ‘No, I’m not.’

   It was true. Jaehyun _had_ been on three proper dates with Taeyong. The first had been to dinner, and to a movie, as all first dates ought to be. The second had been a bike ride around the outer parts of Seoul where there were more trees and less people. The third was quieter, less of a date and more of an evening together home at Taeyong’s. Jaehyun liked Taeyong’s apartment – it was very… him.

   Every corner was splashed with colour, and there were boxes of candy everywhere that he could not squeeze in downstairs. On his bed, which Jaehyun had glimpsed, there were several Rilakkuma plushes.

   Across three dates, they had talked so much that Jaehyun had almost run out of things to _say_. It felt like the hours stretched on and on in the best way, as if time moved differently when they were together. Jaehyun already felt like he knew Taeyong as well as he knew himself, and yet at the same time he felt like there was a lifetime of things that he still needed to find out about him. _Yes_ , they talked. A lot.

   But no, they hadn’t kissed.

   ‘No, I’m not kidding,’ he said.

   Doyoung, in particular, looked affronted. ‘ _Seriously_?’

   ‘This isn’t the sixteenth century, Jae! What are you waiting for? Get on with it and kiss the poor boy!’

   Jaehyun swallowed and turned around, determined to ignore them from now on. It was none of their business anyway.

   Did he want to kiss Taeyong? Yes, of course. Taeyong was stunning, beautiful, and smart and funny. His lips were painstakingly kissable. But –

   _But_.

   Three dates had gone by and Taeyong hadn’t tried to kiss _him_. Did that mean he wasn’t interested in him that way? Or was he waiting for Jaehyun to make the first move? Jaehyun didn’t _like_ having to be the one to make the first move. He’d settled into the comfortable reality of Taeyong being the forward one. What if after a few dates Taeyong had decided he just wanted to be friends? What if Jaehyun screwed it all up by trying to kiss him?

   ‘Kiss him, Jae,’ ordered Johnny.

   Jaehyun ignored him.

   He was going on a date with Taeyong in the afternoon. A new botanical garden had opened recently in Seoul, and he thought that it was the perfect place for them, because one of the great virtues of being a baker was that he could whip up a masterful picnic without great strain.

   Would that be the right time to kiss him? Surrounded by flowers?

   He sighed and wandered back into the hot bakery out the back. He already had two special tiger breads baking, because he knew that was Taeyong’s favourite, as well as a whole tray of cookies. He wanted them to be just cooked, still gooey because he’d watched Taeyong pick apart the best ones that he’d baked before and lick the melted chocolate from the chips from the ends of his fingers.

   The scent of sesame from the baking bread was strong in the air, so heady that he had to sit down for a moment. Suddenly, Johnny had made him very, very nervous. _Dammit_. He’d been relaxed, excited for the date, and now –

   He sighed, and picked up a slice of fruitcake that Johnny had left out on the counter for later. Maybe the rum syrup would dull the nerves.

*

   ‘So you said that your parents wanted you to be a doctor?’ Jaehyun asked.

   They had picked out a quiet, hidden little spot in the gardens to sit down for their lunch. There was a wildflower bed built up behind them, and a narrow passage of grass down which the gardeners could cross, before the main channels of plants alongside the neat pathways along which visitors could cross. Those plants were fancier, plush pink roses with velvety petals that, when he touched them, reminded Jaehyun of holding Taeyong’s hand.

   Taeyong looked perfect in amongst the flowers, bubble-gum-pink hair giving him a sort of camouflage.  

   ‘Yes,’ Taeyong nodded. ‘For a long time.’

   ‘Did you ever consider it?’

   Taeyong raised his eyebrows. ‘Oh yes. I was good at school, I got very good grades. Maybe I was a little over-enthusiastic about certain things, but I think I could have settled down into medical school quite well. And I liked the thought of helping people. My mom is an anaesthetist, and my dad is a paediatrician.’

   ‘Wow,’ Jaehyun nodded. ‘No wonder they wanted you in the family business.’

   ‘They worked a lot,’ mused Taeyong. He was picking apart a cookie. Jaehyun watched him with a smile. ‘That’s why I spent a lot of time with my grandmother, growing up. I wasn’t sure I wanted that for my life. And sweets? Sweets make people _smile_. I thought, saving lives isn’t the only way I can help people. The streets of Seoul are falling victim to so many big corporations and so many independent places are closing down and being replaced by big bland chains and I wanted…’

   Jaehyun caught his eye. There was a sparkle there of defiance and pride.

   ‘Things aren’t exactly going great in the world right now, are they?’ Taeyong sighed. ‘But when people come into my sweet shop, it’s like for those few moments all the awful stuff outside doesn’t exist anymore. The kids don’t have to think about growing up, and the adults get to feel like kids again. That was what I wanted.’

   ‘It works,’ Jaehyun nodded. He picked around his basket for a sandwich. ‘When I’m in your store, that’s how I feel. Especially when I see you.’ He cleared his throat, thinking of Johnny urging him to push things forward a bit. He could flirt. He _was_ capable of that. ‘When I see you, it’s like I’m sixteen again with my first crush.’

   ‘Do I make you nervous?’ Taeyong giggled.

   ‘Maybe a little.’

   The pink flush on Taeyong’s cheeks did not escape Jaehyun’s notice.

   After a second of silence, Taeyong crossed his legs and sat up straight. ‘ _So,_ what did _your_ parents want you to do? Or were they deeply invested in their son being a baker?’

   Jaehyun laughed. ‘I don’t think they cared, Tae,’ he said, quite honestly. ‘When I was a teenager, my mom shacked up with the scaffolder who moved in across the road, and dad went off the rails a bit. They were both… pretty distracted, I think, for the majority of my adolescence.’

   ‘I’m sorry,’ Taeyong said gently.

   ‘It’s fine,’ Jaehyun shrugged. ‘Since becoming an adult, I think I’ve realised… adults have a lot of _stuff_ going on. Every day is hard. So I understand. I don’t blame them.’

   ‘So that’s why you’re so scared of change?’ Taeyong picked at some bread, but he wasn’t eating it. ‘You didn’t like me… moving in across the street?’

   Jaehyun shook his head. ‘I was just nervous. Things were going very well in my life. I was worried it would all get shaken up.’

   ‘And I suppose I did shake it all up, right?’ Taeyong gave him a small smile. ‘You are out on a date with me, after all.’

   ‘My favourite _ever_ shake-up.’

   They enjoyed the stillness, for a while, amidst the change. Bees kept flying into the nearby flowers to pollinate, and every time Jaehyun jumped in case they were wasps. Wasps and freshly baked food were not a good combination, he had learned over the years. Taeyong just laughed and started to talk to him about bees. Apparently, he liked bees a lot. Jaehyun made a mental note to work on some fondant bees to put on his next cakes for him.

   He made cakes every week for Taeyong. Sometimes twice a week. Often, three times. Every time, he chose a different colour or detail or creature that Taeyong loved, of which there were many. Taeyong loved things, things of all sorts, as eclectic as the sweets he stocked in the store.

   ‘I was thinking, we should do some sort of collaboration.’

   ‘Isn’t that what we’re doing?’ Jaehyun grinned.

   ‘Not like _dating_ ,’ Taeyong rolled his eyes. ‘Something for work. It’ll get more people into both of our stores. We could make some candy cakes, set up a stall outside. _Oh my god_ ,’ he added, like he’d just had a lightbulb moment, ‘we can do sweet street food. Like a pop-up.’

   ‘You’re full of bright ideas.’ Jaehyun looked at him, really looked, to take in everything. Taeyong was energetic, bold, enthusiastic, with an absolute passion for his small business that Jaehyun could entirely relate to. He wondered whether the reason that it had taken him so long to find a boyfriend, despite Johnny’s attempts, was because he had been in search of someone who would _understand_ what it meant to live for bringing joy to others through the kitchen.

   And Taeyong understood taxes and admin and accountancy and all of the things that kept Jaehyun awake at night, the sides of the business that weren’t so sweet.

   ‘I brought dessert by the way,’ Taeyong giggled, and Jaehyun pulled a face.

   ‘I thought I was making the picnic!’

   ‘I’m only being silly,’ Taeyong pulled out a packet from his pocket with a beaming smile. ‘For us,’ he said.

   He was holding out a tube of _Love Hearts_.

   Jaehyun laughed as he unwound the plastic and tipped them out onto the blanket they had laid down. They stood out pink and white and pale violet against the red check pattern, some of the messages face down and others looking up at them invitingly.

   ‘Might be a bit early for that one,’ said Taeyong, as he picked up a _First Love_ sweet and popped it into his mouth.

   Jaehyun felt butterflies in his stomach, and he knew that he probably turned red. He contemplated it. Taeyong would be very easy to fall in love with, he imagined. It would probably not take long. ‘How about this one?’ he supplied, taking a _Dream Boy_ heart and holding it out for him. When Taeyong went to take it, though, he pulled it away and placed it without hesitation on his own tongue.

   Taeyong pulled a face and snatched up another candy for himself instead.

   The buzz of sherbet hit Jaehyun’s tongue with a rush that made his taste-buds tingle. Towards the centre, there was a subtle taste of lemon.

   They picked their way through the packet, joking about the messages. Some of them were rather too forward for such an early date, Jaehyun thought, but Taeyong seemed to _love_ them. He spent at least a minute trying to convince Jaehyun to call him his _Heart’s Desire_ before smiling smugly when he conceded.

   ‘I like this one,’ Taeyong held out the heart in his palm.

   It was purple, though the sugary edges reminded Jaehyun of pale lilac frosting.

   Then, he read the message, and looked up to Taeyong’s eyes.

   _Kiss me_ , said that love heart, and the sparkling request of Taeyong’s gaze.

   Jaehyun took a deep breath. He allowed himself the rare pleasure of touching Taeyong, letting his fingers graze over his neck and the exposed part of his collarbone. He was always very respectful of Taeyong’s personal space, even though Taeyong was quite the opposite and was always hugging him or hanging off his arm in one way or another when they were out.

   His fingertips brushed into the soft pink hair at the nape of his neck, thumb a ghost across his throat where his pulse had quickened. When Jaehyun leaned close enough to kiss him with only a centimetre of movement, he felt Taeyong’s breath hitch close to his lips, and then he closed the gap.

   Taeyong’s lips tasted of sugar and sherbet, just like Jaehyun had always imagined they would.

   He held his lips only a second, but it felt like longer. He allowed Taeyong’s hair to run through his fingers as he let his head fall back just a little, like an invitation for Jaehyun to kiss him harder.

   But Jaehyun pulled away very soon.

   Taeyong was far too sweet, far too precious, to escape the _long_ , painfully romantic game-plan that Jaehyun had laid out in his mind for them. It started like this, with feather-light touches and careful kisses. He would not mess this up by moving too fast.

   Taeyong’s eyes opened, dark and flush with happiness. ‘Kept me waiting long enough,’ he said.

   Jaehyun negotiated the _Kiss Me_ heart his fingers and popped it onto his tongue. ‘You sound like Johnny.’

   ‘Johnny wanted you to kiss him?’ Taeyong smirked.

   ‘No, he wanted me to kiss you!’ groaned Jaehyun.

   ‘You talk about me to Johnny?’ he said, and there was a shyness to his tone that only crept out occasionally.

   ‘I talk about you all the time. You’re on my mind rather a lot, especially because whenever I look outside my window I see your shop.’

   ‘You realise that we could hold up messages to each other from our bedroom windows, right?’

   Jaehyun smiled. They were already at the stage when they would wave to each other across the street as soon as sending their goodnight texts. But there was a lot that could be done with the channel between their windows, and Jaehyun’s mind crossed through all of the opportunities in rapid succession. _Oh yes_ , he very much liked having Taeyong as a neighbour.

   ‘We should get back, soon,’ he sighed, though.

   ‘I’m sure Johnny won’t have burned the place down, yet,’ said Taeyong with a pout, like he didn’t want the date to end.

   ‘Not yet, but you need to reopen.’ Jaehyun worried, always, for Taeyong’s losses when they went out together and he had to close up the shop. ‘You should look into hiring some staff, soon.’

   ‘I know, I know. It’s going to be hard to find the right people, though.’

   ‘You can have Johnny if you want,’ Jaehyun grumbled.

   Taeyong stood up and brushed the remnants of the picnic from his clothes. There was a dusting of icing sugar on his left cheek, but Jaehyun wanted to smile at it just a little longer so he did not point it out quite yet.

   He brushed it off only when they had walked most of the way back across town to their little street. _Theirs_. That was what it felt like now. Everyone else who occupied it was merely a visitor, because the bakery and the candy shop were the two turrets of sweet defiance that made it what it was.

   Outside _Bubblegum_ , there was a cluster of people waiting for the proprietor to return and reopen. Outside of the bakery, there was a queue of people. Ever since the opening of _Bubblegum_ , the street had become a lot more popular, and Jaehyun was noticing the increase in his own custom as well. He could hardly believe, now, that he had been so afraid of what would happen when Taeyong moved in across the street.

   ‘This is my stop,’ said Taeyong. He nodded to the left.

   ‘This is mine.’ Jaehyun nodded to the right.

   Taeyong gave him a look of unabashed _invitation_ , and Jaehyun smiled before leaning close. He pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. There would be plenty of time for more. For now, that was sweet enough.

   They parted in the street without a wave, one to the left and one to the right. They didn’t need to worry about farewells, because they both knew that the other was only ever a few steps away.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading <3 I hope that you all enjoyed this little mini-fic! Please feel free to let me know what you thought in the comments or on twitter ^-^
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/puffyong_)


End file.
